CHAPTER 22.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Liz said in a whisper. “They moved up the wedding for some reason, I also don’t recall any suitors from the Risnar family. For the Risnar family to want anything to do with us the Starkells is… strange.”

“So the Risnars are a big house while yours is a⁠—”

“Small one yes,” Liz completed for Amber, agreeing. “We have to rescue my sister now but the problem is…”

The blonde mage gritted her teeth watching her sister go into the carriage along with the man. They had a whole convoy with eight guards, and Amber could see their levels.

[Warrior. Lvl. 70]

[Mage. Lvl. 69]

[Warrior. Lvl. 73]

…

Every single guard was much higher level than Amber, and it was also barely noon. Attacking now, would cause pure unadulterated chaos, not even factoring in how strong the guards were. If they did it now, the likelihood of the city guards intervening was quite high as well. And so, they watched the man depart. All Liz could do was grit her teeth in evident anger. Finally, after they left she got to talking.

“I do not understand why the Risnars would marry into our family, there must be something I have to be missing,” Liz said in displeasure. “Regardless, we have to take my sister back, I’ve heard enough tales of arranged marriages with the wife ending up dead after some time. I don’t want that to happen to her.”

“Do we still try to take her today?”

Liz immediately nodded to Amber’s question. “If there is a day they don’t expect anything to happen it must be today. I assume that was my sister moving from our house for good. That’s why she was picked up personally.”

The mage frowned before continuing.

“Of course, I could be wrong, but we’ll still take her back today,” she declared. “I know where we can hide until it’s time to strike; one of the noble houses that my sister had a suitor from is near the Risnars.”

And so Amber listened to Liz, though she wondered if she’d regret agreeing to the request later on. Maybe she was trying to bite more than what she could chew. However, in the end, she wasn’t going to back out now, and maybe Liz would prove to be helpful in the future.

* * *

They traveled for a few more minutes, it seemed that a lot of the noble houses were quite close to one another. However, that also had the effect of creating a section of the city where wealth was commonplace, Liz and Amber looked rather out of place the longer they ventured in. However, aside from strange glances they got, they were left alone.

Amber felt like the plan was falling apart by the minute, however she still went along with it seeing Liz’s confidence. Together they ended up hiding in a park that was behind the large residence. Even though the park was quite big, the Risnar’s property spanned the entirety of its length. It was basically a mansion. There were also other properties in each of the other cardinal directions, all of them just as big. The place seemed rather desolate which was a relief; like an isolated park reserved only for the nobles living next to it. After they settled in, Liz let out a deep breath.

“There is a spot like this in every corner of the park, and the house on the south had a suitor for my sister so I looked into it,” she explained. “Most noble houses around here have a park next to them. Sorry for not explaining earlier.”

“I accept your apology,” Amber said simply.

Liz smiled and then took out a scroll from her robe.

“I was trying to avoid using this but…”

“What is that?” Amber inquired and the mage’s smile turned bitter.

“It’s a scroll that has the View enchantment, it will allow me to see my sister for up to half a day, and then it will disappear. Even though we are less than a hundred meters away from the rear gate of the residence, I want to ensure she is safe since we have no way to view inside. Something like this is worth… easily a hundred gold coins,” Liz sighed.

Amber blinked. “That is nice, you must really love your sister.”

“I care for her deeply, which is why I’m doing all of this.” Liz closed her eyes for a moment before nodding. “I’ll activate the scroll now.”

Amber watched as the scroll burned a moment later. And nothing seemed to be happening until Liz grabbed her hand. That was when she saw a vision.

It was Liz’s sister, she was seated on a bed just looking at the ground, wearing nothing but her undergarments. However, what caught Amber’s attention wasn’t the fact that she was in the bedroom, but the marks around her body. They were lines, almost like cuts made at random; hundreds of scars filled her body.

“That is…”

Liz gritted her teeth. “I guess mother and father finally lost their minds, huh?”

“Are you sure that’s not done by the… husband?”

“Absolutely certain,” Liz said simply. “Let’s keep observing.”

Amber nodded before pausing. “There is a preparation we have yet to make.”

The mage paused, losing concentration as the vision disappeared from both of their minds.

“What is this preparation you are speaking about?”

Amber smiled. “Well you see there is a new skill I got and…”

She began explaining to Liz, essentially requesting for the mage to harm her. Contrary to her expectations the mage agreed and offered Amber the tip of her staff, which confused her at first. But an electric shock later, Amber realized just what it meant⁠— and to her surprise, Cursed Rage Synergy was building up along with Cursed Momentum at the same time. It was a very small jolt, but Amber found it to be enough for her needs.

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* * *

At first, it was hard for Amber to see what Liz’s sister was doing, being unable to focus on the visions due to the constant electric shocks. But after an hour she got the hang of it. Liz didn’t seem bothered by the activity either. She could’ve called Amber crazy, or even doubted her claims, but she didn’t.

Instead they both watched Liz’s sister: Velda, was her name as Amber had learned from Liz sometime later. At first, Velda seemed to not be doing anything but as the hours passed she began to pace around the room in apparent anxiousness. Amber and Liz didn’t know where exactly the husband had gone off to, and all Liz knew was that he was the young lord of the Risnar family.

Time passed and Amber got a skill she didn’t expect to see.

[New General Skill! You have learned Magical Resistance ⁠— level 1.

You’ve been attacked by dozens of different types of magic during your short life in this world. And now, you are receiving such damage on purpose. Your eccentricity is commendable. You are now slightly more resistant to all magical attacks.]

Amber’s eyes grew wide as her heart rushed in sudden excitement. Of course, she didn’t jump up or begin to celebrate given her circumstances, but it was something that made her quite happy. Liz on the other hand, seemed as focused as ever, the pulses coming from her staff seeming more like muscle memory than anything.

Finally, after a couple of seconds, Amber refocused on watching what was going on with Velda. She seemed to be writing a letter now, unfortunately the vision did not allow either Liz or Amber to see its contents. However, they could hear the rhythmic scribbling of her pen. As she was doing so, the door finally opened and the man she had been married off to came in.

“Velda, are you ready yet?” he asked.

Velda tightened her fists and began to tear up, much to Liz’s and Amber’s shock.

“I’m not, I don’t want to do this.”

Liz’s sister turned to the man and stared defiantly. He sighed approaching her and then⁠— he slapped her. The sound resounded in their ears as Velda fell to the ground.

“You do not have a choice, your family has sold you,” he said coldly. “And now, you shall serve as a sacrifice to summon a Flametouched Demon, that is why we negotiated so much with your family. For what it’s worth, we had to include them in our inner circle to get our hands on you. It was either that or destroying it which⁠— given we are in the middle of the capital, isn’t an option.”

Amber’s eyes grew wide and Liz immediately spoke.

“We have to act now.”

“So, give up,” the man said as the vision faded.

Amber immediately grabbed the poison Liz had made and doused all of her weapons with it. Then, she jumped over the wall of bushes and quickly spotted the back gate of the residence. She didn’t exactly know how to handle sneaking in, she was a Berserker not an Assassin. Amber immediately began walking at a brisk pace, being mindful of Cursed Momentum’s waning effects.

The guards immediately spotted her, and she unsheathed her dagger.

[Warrior. Lvl. 68]

[Warrior. Lvl. 70]

The two of them should’ve been stronger than her but⁠…

Amber dashed forward, using mana in the process. She arrived in front of one of the guards before he could even react and she slashed across a gap on his armor. The man grunted and immediately backed off, their face said everything. They were about to call for help, and so⁠— Amber stomped.

The two men let out grunts in pain, the ground shattering beneath them as cuts appeared all over their bodies. Amber used the chance to stab onto the second man, and watched the poison take effect in real time.

She turned to see Liz rushing in her direction with a frown.

Amber knew she had made quite a lot of noise, but for some reason no guard seemed to be coming. In fact, they had only seen two guards at the entrance and two at the back. Amber however, didn’t even question it as she began to climb over the gate, and then she helped Liz over.

“Are you sure you want to come along?” Amber asked as they headed towards the backdoor. “You are much lower level than probably everyone here.”

“It’s my sister, of course I want to come along,” Liz replied in a venomous tone.

Amber nodded at that and then forced the handle of the door open with sheer brute force.

“Make sure to keep my skill active,” she instructed Liz.

The mage nodded and a moment later, Amber felt a shock, which made her smile.

The mansion was dimly lit, and ornate. It gave an aura of elegance, but it also felt desolate. However, they didn’t pay any attention to that and instead looked through the first floor until they found the stairs.

Amber led the way, getting shocked one more time along the way, thanks to the scroll they knew Velda was on the third floor, so they made their way there. They skipped the just as empty second floor along the way. However, when they arrived the floor looked just as empty as all the others. In the windows lining the hall the orange sky could be seen.

It was eerily silent all things considered⁠— the entirety of the mansion was.

“I know something is wrong, but we can’t leave without my sister,” Liz said tensely. “Please.”

Amber wasn’t planning on leaving, she liked to keep her word whenever possible. She had told Thieney she wouldn’t die, and she had told Liz she’d help her kidnap slash rescue her sister. And so, she spearheaded the search on the third floor, opening random doors as Liz, still shocked her along the way.

The rooms in the hall seemed empty so they moved through the different halls, trying to look through each room. Eventually they found themselves looking through a large hall. And both paused hearing voices. They seemed quiet but they were most definitely there. They slowed down their advance, and Liz gave Amber another shock while at it⁠— they were silent after all.

Glancing over the corner, Amber saw two guards talking with each other.

[Warrior. Lvl. 71]

[Warrior. Lvl. 70]

“Wouldn’t we serve a better purpose outside?” one of them quietly asked the other.

“The house has plans that cannot be interrupted tonight, so it is our duty to be here,” the other replied.

Amber and Liz paused, they looked at each other for a few moments. Evidently not knowing what to do about them, before Amber had an idea. She grabbed a vase that was nearby and shattered it.

Liz’s eyes grew wide and a moment later the guards stopped talking and slowly began to make their way towards them. It took a few seconds, maybe a bit too long given Cursed Momentum was about to fade, but as Amber saw their shadows approach, she rushed through the corner with her dash skill. Tackling one of the guards to the ground and stabbing her dagger deep into him as she shoved her fist on the man’s mouth.

He struggled and the other guard turned to call for people, but Liz stabbed him behind his back and shoved a rag onto his mouth. The man immediately threw her off but fell shortly after. And just like that, they had incapacitated the guards.

“I hope that vase wasn’t too much noise…” Liz said in a whisper.

Amber nodded at that and they turned the corner, where they saw the guarded door. Amber had missed it, but light was visible under the door. Given where they were in the mansion, Amber didn’t think it was the bedroom from the visions, and Liz pretty much confirmed it.

“This should be a ballroom, I remember rumors of the Risnars purposefully setting their ballroom on the third floor so the castle can be seen from it,” she said quietly.

Amber nodded and after receiving another shock from her friend, she grabbed the handle of the door and carefully craned it open, only a small line to see. The lights were incredibly bright inside the room, so it took her a second to readjust but what she saw made her pause.

It was a ballroom, tables and chairs were neatly tucked to each corner of the room, however at the center of the room Velda resided. And unlike before she seemed to be tied to a table that had a red cloth dropped over it, and surrounding her, was a large magic circle⁠— demonic in nature.

So she really was going to get sacrificed… Amber frowned. What is going on with the demons?

Liz in the meantime had managed to see through the slit on the door as well and her eyes grew wide as she shocked Amber by accident.

“We have to rescue her now,” she whispered, her voice shaking.

Amber nodded, she wanted to wait until the person showed up to start the ritual, but perhaps that was too risky in this situation. And so, she swung the door open and the two rushed towards Velda ⁠— Liz’s sister ⁠— and at that moment a man stood up from behind the table. His back towards them.

The two paused, it was the young lord of the Risnar family⁠, or “young” Amber thought he was in his thirties. The man grabbed something from within his robes and produced a red staff that had the shape of a thorn.

It was⁠—

And he tapped it on the ground, a purple barrier inside the room was erected, covering all the entrances. Amber immediately found it to be reminiscent of the one that the demon had made when she fought it. So, she immediately tensed up on guard, Liz shocked her again which⁠— caught her slightly by surprise, but the man at that moment turned.

And at that moment, guards arrived outside of the barrier. The door on the other side of the room opened to reveal the same thing.

They were surrounded.

“I welcome you both to participate in this ritual.”

He bowed.

“As sacrifices that is.”